Footballer Eric Cantona was right - scientists have established that seagulls really do follow a trawler, for up to seven miles to be precise.

The Manchester United star left most people baffled with his philosophical musings.

But it was his most famous utterance, delivered to a press conference in 1995, that any football fan can recite at heart: ‘When seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.’

Eric Cantona, pictured, told bemused journalists at a press conference: 'When seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea'. He was addressing the media after he had kung-fu kicked a Crystal Palace fan in 1995

The Frenchman was speaking about press interest following his kung fu kick on a Crystal Palace fan.

But now scientists have established that his words were literally true.

A study has found that sea birds really can sense a fishing boat from miles away and alter their flight patterns to zoom in.

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The research, by scientists at the University of Exeter and University College Cork in Ireland, found that a boat creates a ‘halo of influence’ for seven miles in every direction.

Gannets, Britain’s largest seabird, can even differentiate a fishing boat from any other vessel.

They are less likely to be attracted to boats that simply drift along than to boats whose crews are actively fishing.

Dr Mark Jessopp of University College Cork said seabirds can recognise different types of boats and whether they are actually fishing

Exeter’s Dr Thomas Bodey, who led the study tracking six colonies of northern gannets, said: ‘While we knew that seabirds, including gannets, regularly followed fishing vessels, we were surprised at the distance at which the birds’ behaviour was affected, expecting it to be a more localized phenomenon.’

The researchers tracked the movements of 74 individual birds around the British Isles using high-resolution GPS trackers. They compared their flight patterns to the GPS logs of fishing boats, establishing that each boat had a remarkably wide impact on the birds.

The study, published in the journal Current Biology, said the findings demonstrate that fishing vessels which throw discards into the water have a far bigger ecological footprint than previously thought.

Dr Mark Jessopp of University College Cork said: ‘The fact that birds responded differently to boats depending on whether they were fishing or not, and the type of gear they were carrying, indicates just how finely attuned these animals are to the opportunities humans can provide.’